A Syrian plastic surgeon is facing deportation from the UK after the Home Office revoked his refugee status, declaring it is now safe for him and his family to return to their home country. Despite Foreign Office guidance advising against all travel to Syria because of the “volatile” security situation, the government has classified it as a safe place for refugees to return to. Although some European countries are strongly promoting voluntary return to Syria, the Home Office’s decision to actively remove refugee status for Syrians is thought to be the first of its kind in Europe since the fall of the Assad regime.
The surgeon, who fled the Assad regime and arrived in the UK in 2016, now lives in London with his wife and six children, three of whom are studying at university. He is understood to be one of the first Syrian refugees in the UK to have his refugee protection cancelled. The move is believed to be the first time the Home Office has cancelled refugee protection for a particular nationality, and thousands of Syrians settled in the UK are likely to be affected.
We have integrated well but now my refugee status has been cancelled. I am currently working in a GP surgery but am hoping I will be able to continue my practice as a plastic surgeon soon. I was targeted by certain radical groups in Syria who are still operating there.
They are capable of doing many things to me. And I don’t believe that the current Syrian government would be able to protect me from these groups. But now I have given them the news.
Like me, they are all in shock and are only just starting to absorb this. My three older children are all studying at university: one is doing neuroscience, another cybersecurity and a third pharmacy. By revoking our refugee status the Home Office is depriving us of the right to live our lives.” The Home Office letter states: “Your refugee status has been ceased.
Although officials accept that the situation in Syria remains ‘complex’ they consider that changes in Syria are so significant that your fear of persecution and serious harm can no longer be regarded as well founded.” The technical term is “cessation” of refugee status. The UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR, in its most recent guidance about the safety of Syria, found that governments should not be returning refugees there. It said: “UNHCR calls on states to refrain from implementing cessation exercises until such time as the situation in Syria has seen significant improvements in overall stability.” Foreign Office guidance states that the security situation in Syria “remains volatile” and adds: “Fighting and violence may occur around the country and is highly unpredictable.
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